Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 November 1893 — FARMS AND FARMERS. [ARTICLE]

FARMS AND FARMERS.

Poultry Pointer*. Chi cage Inter-Ocean The trouble usually met with upon large poultry farms is that the fowls run together in too large Socks. In this way oftentimes the fodS lS monopolized by the stronger birds to the exclusion of the weaker. Theoretically there is no reason why 1,000 hens*should not yield the same proportional profit as fifteen, yet in practice such has never been the result so far, from the simple cause that the conditions which surround the 1,000 are not so favorable as those affecting the fifteen. The care per individual is not equal when large numbers are kept. The hygienic influences are not so healthful. Crowding and lack of cleanliness are too frequently comcomitants of the large poultry farms. All that can be done, or is necessary to do, is to make conditions that prevail where large numbers of fowls are bred conform as closely as may be to those that exist with small flocks. Divide up the hens into colonies not exceeding twenty-five birds each. Then use each twenty-five lot of fowls as carefully and wisely as if but that number were owned. Abnormal Eggs—Large, doubleyolked or abnormal eggs are usually produced by hens that are too fat. Soft-shelled eggs are generally laid by hens in like obese condition. The remedy is to cut short the feed and force the fowls to take more exercise. Feed more wheat, bran and oats and less corn; mix grain with litter and oblige the hens to scratch vigorously to obtain the coveted kernels. Exercise is a great boon to all animal life and to no species is it more beneficial than to domestic poultry. Wheat for Food —Wheat is very cheap now, far cheaper for the nutrients contained than corn. Therefore let the poultry farmer put in a supply of 'wheat to Teed now as well as for winter use. Prices are destined soon to rise, it seems probable, so perhaps it would be a better investment of funds to place them in wheat than to lock them up in banks or stocks.

Change Drinking Water Often.— The water in the drinking vessels should be frequently changed this weather, as it soon becomes foul. It must not be left in the sun, but placed under some sort of shade. Trees should be plentifully scattered through the poultry runs, and beneath their branches the drinking water may be placed, so as to remain cool and fresh. Keep Chicken-house Clean —Decomposition is much more active in summer than in cooler weather. Therefore it is well to clean out the droppings quite often, and thus keep the fowlhouse sweet and wholesome for its occupants. Sprinkle dry earth or land plaster freely abou t to absorb moisture and poisonous gases. Separate Pullets and Cockerels. — Separate the pullets and cockerels. The latter are continually worrying and annoying the former, and by so doing run off their own flesh very fast. The surplus cockerels may as well be dressed and marketed at once. Prices generally rule higher now than later, so reckoning the expense of further keep, it is very doubtful if anything is gained by waiting. Food for Moulting Season. —The fowls have begun to moult. This is an exhaustive process, so extra feed and care are in order. Give an abundance of oats, bran, and wheat, and a small amount of linseed meal and sunflower seeds. The two last named are of an oily nature and assist the shedding and reproduction of feathers. M. S. Pebkins. Danvers, Mass.

Good Roads. The heavy part of the year’s work on the farm is nearly over, and the farmers can now feel like looking about to see what are the fruits of his labors. While he is getting over the hard service of the spring and summer, let him anticipate some things. The good road question is old and yet ever new. The time put in the foundations for good roads is in the less busy season. If there is a quarry near by the road to be improved and stone is to be the foundation for the road, the time is coming when that stone can be hauled and placed ready for the gravel. Let road commissioners be on the lookout for these matters. In some communities where there are gravel pits public-spirited owners of the gravel are glad to furnish that material if the town will make the foundations, and the farmers along the road to be improved will invariably, when the subject is properly presented, furnish the teams to haul the stone or gravel and put it on the road.

In regard to roads Hon. Edward Burroughs, President of the New Jersey Board of Agriculture, says: “Before the building ol vhe New Jersey turnpikes twenty-five baskets of potatoes were considered a fair load from the farm I now occupy tc i market. After the turnpike was built, fifty to sixty baskets were considered no more of a load than were the twenfy-fiye a few year§.previous. And now, since the stone road has ; been built, our load Is eighty-five or one hundred baskets; and during the | past winter our team has carted over ninety loads of manure from : Philadelphia, several of which I I weighed and found 6,869 and 7,300 fpounds clear of the wagon, which j weighed alone 2,200 pounds, a combined weight of 4i tons. Many of [ these loads were drawn from the city ,to the point of leaving the stone • road with only two horses, and the i result has been a saving of over SIOO ' in my manure bill.

Good Cowi Essential. It is still customary to place cream i in the old-time dash churn and work lon until the “butter comes,” which may require a Ions? or a short time, according to circumstances. It was well known to all farmers that the temperature must be “just right,” or there would be difficulty, and churning was more or less operated “in the dark” until some enterprising person conceived the idea of using a thermometer in the churn in order to know the correct temperature required, and also to regulate the churning accordingly. The tests of dairy cows at Chicago show that there is no temperature for churning that may be relied upon as “fixed.” At the oeginning i the temperature of the cream from i the milk of the Jersey cows varied from 44 to 52 degrees, that from the ' Guernseys varied from 42 to 46 dei grees, and that from the Shorthorns i from 40 to 44 degrees. At the endj ing of the week the cream from the ! Jersey herd varied from 51 to 58 de- ■ grees, that from the Guernseys from 47 to 54 degrees, and that from the Shorthorns from to 52 degrees. The average rise in temperature l during churning, of the Jersey cream, was 7.5 degrees, with an average of 6 degrees for the Guerni seys, and 4.5 degrees for the Shorthorns. The shortest time in churning Jersey cream was 60 minutes and the longest 120 minutes. The shortest time in churning the Guernsey cream was 50 minutes and the longest 130 minutes, while the shortest for the Shorthorns was 40 minutes ! and the longest 95 minutes. It will | be noticed »that the temperature of the cream varied during churning, : and that the time required for “mak- . ing the butter come” varied widelyj The three breeds varied greatly in ‘ the amount of cream contained in i the milk, and the individual cows of ■ the breeds differed also in quantity and qualitv of product. As no two cows are alike in any respect, and as the milk and butter differ not only in quality, but also in the time required for churning, no fixed rules can be settled upon in the matter of churning. All depends on the cow | herself, and the requirements in the herd. It is incumbent upon farmers, in the face of these tests, to give greater attention to the kind of cows i they use, for not only is the care and attention, as well as the feed, potent factors with the breed, but the labor of churning is also dependent on the cows more than on the kind of churn. Dairying is a science, and the more it is investigated the greater is it made apparent that the heaviest loss on the farm comes from the use of scrubcows.

Note*. Two New York women have asked Governor Flower for permission to wear garments of the sterner sex while engaged in farm labors. The pasture is the foundation of the dairy business in America, and must continue to be so for generations yet to come. To his pasture the dairyman must give his first attention in preparing to succeed. They need to be as rich as the nature of his land and bis means at command will allow. They should be seeded down to a large variety of grasses —grasses of different habits of growth, time of ripening seed, of good flavor, and nutritious. To the man just beginning to lay down his land to pasture, the one thing essential above all things else is a thorough preparation of the land. But there are but few now in the business who are just preparing to seed down; their pastures arealready set. To this class the one thing needful is regular top dressing with some well decomposed manures.